CAR FIRE ON MORONGO GRADE

Morongo Valley firefighters assisted Desert Hot Springs Fire Department with a vehicle fire Sunday morning that spread into vegetation on the shoulder of the highway. Firefighter Brandon Flores said sometime around 11 a.m., the engine of a Ford Crown Victoria traveling westbound on the highway started smoking on the Riverside County portion of the Morongo Grade. The driver pulled over to the right shoulder and the car became engulfed in flames. The driver was not on the scene when firefighters arrived, but Flores said he returned while they were fighting the flames. The fire burned about a 300- by 100-foot section of vegetation.